The Attack on Civil Liberties

The vast majority of the Colorado
community has responded to the tragedy at Columbine High School with grace,
courage, sensitivity, and thoughtfulness. Unfortunately, an undercurrent of
reactionary Big Brotherism following the tragedy threatens to weaken our civil
liberties.

The Attack on the Freedom of
Speech

In a group discussion with President Clinton April 23, one student
asked what the Federal government can do to control the content of the Internet.
It turns out that Eric Harris, one of the killers, maintained a web page
drenched in hate. Harris reportedly shared information on how to make bombs over
the Internet.

Rights can be abused, but the
alternative to a free society is one in which Big Brother gets to decide what
speech is acceptable and what is not. Of course, the right of speech hardly
implies that law enforcers cannot follow publicized comments and use such
comments in their investigations. At one point, Harris published a "hit list" on
his public internet site that included the name of at least one other Columbine
student. The threatened student shared this information with the police.

Parents also retain rights to monitor
their children's behavior. Harris's parents were fully capable of monitoring
their son's activities, and his public documents, and taking preventative
action. Apparently, they failed to do so.

The Federal government could
control the Internet, but it ought not. When we the people confer upon the
government the ability to restrict our freedom of speech, the line defining
"acceptable" speech will continually be redrawn according to government fiat. We
must protect evil speech from the control of the government so that the
beautiful, the enlightened, the unusual, and the genius can also thrive.

Movies and music have also been
targeted by some. Individuals have every right to speak out against music and
films they find offensive. However, public criticism should not turn to calls
for censorship or violence. The
Rocky Mountain News published a letter to the editor April 22 which reads,
"Marilyn Manson, along with all other purveyors of filth and violence, Hollywood
in particular, should be indicted for murder, convicted and executed." In other
words, shred the First Amendment and persecute people for their ideas and words.

While the comment is best interpreted
as an isolated, emotionally-charged outburst, it remains disquieting. Who will
be the final arbiter of what is "filthy and violent?" Some find movies such as Fargo
and
Pulp Fiction to be so. Others, however, find in these films strong
anti-violence themes and an enlightened commentary on the human condition.
That's why we have free speech, so that we can agree to disagree. We maintain
freedom of religion for precisely the same reason.

The Attack on the Right of Self-Defense

In two events organized by Denver Mayor Wellington Webb (who has no jurisdiction
in Littleton), speakers disparaged the right of self-defense, calling for more
onerous restrictions on the Second Amendment right to own firearms. The National
Rifle Association was demonized, as were Colorado legislators who defend gun
rights.

State Representative Doug Dean, the
sponsor of a bill that would expand the right to carry concealed weapons,
received threats at his home and office from some Colorado residents. Some
callers even threatened to kill Dean's children. However, there is simply no
connection between Dean's proposed legislation and the Columbine slaughter.
Indeed, Dean makes a compelling case, based on studies from other states with
concealed carry laws, that such laws increase public safety by deterring
criminals.

But Dean's opponents are not interested
in facts, studies, or logic. Guns, gun owners, and civil liberties advocates are
to be vilified at all costs in this climate of lynch-mob politics.

The killers already broke numerous laws
before even setting foot into Columbine. It is already illegal for minors to
possess the handguns the killers carried. It is already illegal to carry
firearms onto school property. It is already illegal to carry concealed weapons
without a permit. Certainly it is illegal to construct bombs, which the killers
made by the dozens. If anything we need better enforcement of the laws already
on the books.

A fundamental problem in the Columbine
tragedy is that the parents of the killers failed to prevent their children from
acting in blatantly illegal and dangerous ways. The killers constructed
sophisticated bombs in their parents' garage over a period of days. No law in
the world can compensate for such gross abnegation of parental responsibility.

It's easy to seek scapegoats in the
aftermath of trauma. It's easy for politicians to exploit tragedy for their own
political ends. But irrational anger is no substitute for a healthy process of
grieving.

Freedom is always at risk, but
especially so in times of social turmoil. The wrong way to resolve a crisis is
to blindly call for more government control. The right way is to rely on and
create voluntary social institutions to heal the wounds.

Ari Armstrong is a research associate with
the Independence Institute and the editor of the Colorado Freedom Report at www.co-freedom.com.

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necessarily representing the views of the Independence Institute or as an
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comments to Independence Institute, 727 East 16th Ave., Denver, Colorado 80203 Phone 303-279-6536. (email)webmngr @ i2i.org